Training with Infosys Technologies Ltd. in Mysore, India Total duration: 14.5 wks
Departure
From Mauritius
Date: 21 July 2004, 11 a.m Plane: Air Mauritius, airbus A340 Lunch: Lamb, with a very nice dessert Entertainment: Watched Peter Pan movie,
and listened to Shania Twain album
Arrival
in Mumbai
Time: 6 pm (IST). Very hot. Destination: Grand Hyatt Hotel (superbly
beautiful!) First glimpse of India: Very nice cars
(in Mumbai, I mean), cattle everywhere (roaming besides
the very nice cars), lotsa of rickshaws Dinner: Excellent! (First taste of
hot spicy Indian food) Sleep: A few hours. Had to wake up
at 3am to catch the flight to Bangalore
Mumbai
to Bangalore
Mumbai, Airport: 3:30 am - waiting
for our flight scheduled for 6:25 am Flight: Air Sahara Arrival: Bangalore, 8 am
Mysore
Mysore is a beautiful city, city of Maharajas, the size
of the whole Mauritius island, 139 kms from Bangalore.
• Mysore Palace
Beautifully illuminated at night for the Dasara festival.
Went elephant riding with Anni there!
• Brindavan Garden
Gardens in India are not just trees and flowers, but
with lighted fountains (I missed the musical fountain
though)
• Chamundi Hill
One of the sacred hills in India - feels like going
to Ooty with its never ending winding roads. Spectacular
view of whole Mysore city from the hill
• Mysore Zoo
First time I've been to a zoo! Giraffes, hippopotamus,
bears, lions, tigers, wapitis...
Shopping
Great! Everything is so cheap!
Transport
Mostly using autos (rickshaws), taxis or sumos. But
also used the city bus (116) and train (to go to Bangalore).
The bus fare is sooo cheap in Mysore! Took us only INR
4.50 adult fare (less than MRU 3) to go from Mysore
DC to the city - about 40 mins travel, while in Mauritius
for this same distance, you'll most probably be charged
at least MRU 18! Oh well, the buses are not like the
air-coned ones with radio which we have in Mauritius,
but if the fare is Rs4.50, who cares about aircon or
radio?!
Cinema
Went to Sterling cinema - the only cinema in Mysore which shows movies in English to watch Spiderman 2. Missed the evening show, had to watch the 9pm show. Ticket - INR 30, balcony, else you pay only INR 10... Just imagine that cinema tickets in Mauritius are Rs 120!
Food
"Food which is not hot and spicy is NOT food!" - that's
what Jairam one of our facilities people in Mysore DC
said. And all India caterers think the same!
Places where we were having our meals: DC
Foodcourt, King s Kourt, Olive Garden
My favorite dishes
• Cream of chicken from King's
Kourt) the only restaurant I know which serves only
great dishes!
• All the murg dishes - murg
makhan masala, murg shahajani
• Paneer 65
• Gobi Manchurian
Entertainment
Karting at Planet X! Nice restaurant also there
Trips to Bangalore
Usually by sumo and on Saturdays. Once went by train. We would normally set off by 6am, and return by 10 pm. Great for shopping - lots of shopping malls, and streets devoted to crazy shoppers - MG road, Brigade road, Commercial street... A pity we didn't know that Airport road before we left!
Ooty
Cold, cold, cold! But worth the visit! Stayed whole weekend at Glyngarth villa (where the film Rakht was shot) surrounded by dark, gloomy forests... First time in my life saw a fireplace, where I spent most of the night in front (hey I'm used to temperatures above 20°C, not 10°C!). Visited one of the tallest peak in the South of India - Dodebetta Peak (Grr, was freezing over there!). Took the train to Coonoor. Forgot why we went there. On return trip, went boating in a big big lake!
Coorgh
Simply beatiful! Visited the Golden Temple (a monastery),
Cauvery River & Natural Forest, Abbi Falls
